NdCAD Open House

This evening, I attended an open house event at the premises of the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent in St. Paul. Founded in 1997, this network seeks to promote positive education for children and youths of African descent. Its mission embraces and engages parents and other community members in literacy programs, tutoring, and cultural enrichment. It runs a library service for children and adults.



Gevonee Ford welcomed us to the open house with a brief overview of the history and mission of the NdCAD. He eloquently explained, for example, that black children grow up in a world saturated with narratives of negativity and brokenness in the black world: from relationships to values and dreams. Without discounting the existence of problems, the NdCAD promotes the narrative that not everything is broken, and that there are positive things that need to be developed in order to build a better future.


Gevonee announced that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the NdCAD, and he unveiled the commemorative banner. The first photo above features the banner before it was unveiled.

I had visited the NdCAD for the first time on February 18. Seeing all those students, parents, volunteers, meeting rooms, books and other educational resources, not to mention photos of famous black personalities lining the walls, was an eye-opening experience. I was inspired to witness the communal spirit and the collective desire to bring about real education to the children and the community at large, rooted in an Afrocentric perspective, not in any wishy-washy or romantic sense, but a real understanding and appreciation of the central role that Africa and people of African descent have historically played in the world.


That the NdCAD has been operating for twenty years and looks confidently to the future is a remarkable story of unwavering determination and hope. It is a story that deserves to be widely known, for there is no doubt that it will inspire others as it has inspired me.